Factors determining level of hospital care and its association with outcome after resuscitation from pre-hospital pulseless electrical activity.

Background: Patients resuscitated from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) with pulseless electrical activity (PEA) as initial cardiac rhythm are not always treated in intensive care units (ICUs): some are admitted to high dependency units with various level of care, others to ordinary wards. Aim of this study was to describe the factors determining level of hospital care after OHCA with PEA, post-resuscitation care and survival.

Methods: Adult OHCA patients with PEA (n = 221), who were resuscitated in southern Finland between 2010 and 2013 were included, provided patient survived to hospital admission.

Post resuscitation care of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest patients in the Nordic countries: a questionnaire study.

Background: Aim of this study was to compare post resuscitation care of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients in Nordic (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden) intensive care units (ICUs).

Methods: An online questionnaire was sent to Nordic ICUs in 2012 and was complemented by an additional one in 2014.

Results: The first questionnaire was sent to 188 and the second one to 184 ICUs.

Pulseless electrical activity and successful out-of-hospital resuscitation - long-term survival and quality of life: an observational cohort study.

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the long-term outcome of patients successfully resuscitated from pre-hospital cardiac arrest with initial pulseless electrical activity (PEA), because the long-term outcome of these patients is unknown. Survival, neurological status one year after cardiac arrest and self-perceived quality of life after five years were assessed.

Methods: This retrospective study included adult patients resuscitated from PEA between August 2001 and March 2003 in three urban areas in southern Finland.

Does appropriate treatment of the primary underlying cause of PEA during resuscitation improve patients' survival?

Aim Of The Study: We aimed to document how often patients received appropriate treatment of the primary cause underlying pulseless electrical activity (PEA) during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and how it affected their outcome.

Methods: Data were collected between 2003 and 2010 in Finland and Sweden. All adult patients who underwent in-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) with PEA as the initial rhythm were included, if CPR was attempted.

Conduct of emergency research in patients unable to give consent--experiences and perceptions of patients, their consent providing next of kin, and treating physicians following a prehospital resuscitation trial.

Objective: According to a directive of the European Parliament, informed consent is required to conduct a clinical trial also in emergencies when the patient is unable to provide consent. In these cases surrogate consent can be obtained from the patient's next of kin. There are no reports describing how patients and their next of kin perceive this policy.

Warfarin and fibrinolysis--a challenging combination: an observational cohort study.

Background: Patients presenting with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) frequently use warfarin. Fibrinolytic agents and warfarin both increase bleeding risk, but only a few studies have been published concerning the bleeding risk of warfarin-prescribed patients receiving fibrinolysis. The objective of this study was to define the prevalence for intracranial haemorrhage (ICH) or major bleeding in patients on warfarin treatment receiving pre-hospital fibrinolysis.